All The Water in the World, written by Karen Raney review | blog tour

All The Water in the World by Karen Raney

Publication date: January 9th, 2020 
Publisher: Two Roads
Pages: 368
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

A stunning debut novel about a teenage girl and her mother, as they grapple with first love, family secrets, and tragedy.

Maddy is sixteen. She has loyal friends, a mother with whom she’s unusually close, a father she’s never met, devoted grandparents, and a crush on a boy named Jack. Maddy also has cancer. Deeply curious, wry, and vivacious, she’s poised at the outset of adulthood, ready to untangle all the mysteries that living holds—if she survives her teens.

All the Water in the World is the story of a family doing its best when faced with the worst. Told in the alternating voices of Maddy and her mother, Eve, the narrative moves between the family’s lake house in Pennsylvania, their home in Washington, DC, and London. Hungry for experience despite living in the shadow of illness, Maddy seeks out her first romantic relationship, ponders philosophical questions, finds solace in music and art, and tracks down her father, Antonio. She continually tests the depths and limits of her closeness with her mother, while Eve has to come to terms with the daughter she only partly knows, in a world she can’t control.

Unforgettable and singularly moving, with voices that range from tender to funny, despairing to defiant, this novel is a testimony to the transformative power of love, humor, and hope.

– My Thoughts –

All The Water in the World tells the story of sixteen years old Maddie and her mother Eve. Maddie at sixteen has cancer and Eve raised her alone after her father announced that he didn’t want children. Later, Maddie decides to reach out to her father and the two of them start keeping in touch secretly. Meanwhile, there’s Eve who tries to take care of Maddie with her parents, her partner Robin, all the while ignorant from the fact that her ex-husband and her daughter are in touch.

The story is narrated from both Eve and Maddie’s perspectives, and I kept going until I reached halfway through the book. I wanted to go on and enjoy this book but I couldn’t force it.

Overall, this book didn’t prove to be an enjoyable read for me. However, if you like how the synopsis sounds then go for it, you might love it. In the blog banner you can see four other bloggers who participated in this tour, so please check out their reviews as well.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

---

– About the Author –

KAREN RANEY recently gained an MA in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths with a Distinction and was awarded the 2017 Pat Kavanagh Prize for All Water In the World when the novel was still a work-in-progress. Born in Schenectady, New York, Raney attended Oberlin College, graduated from Duke University, and worked as a nurse before moving to Londonto study art. She lives in London with her husband and daughter, and teaches at the University of East London.

Thank you for reading! Have you read All the Water in the World? or, Have you ever reviewed a book you did not finish? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Advertisement

Blog Tour: The Day We Meet Again, written by Miranda Dickinson | sort of a book review

The Day We Meet Again by Miranda Dickinson

Publication date: September 5th, 2019 
Publisher: HQ
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

The brand-new novel from The Sunday Times bestselling author, Miranda Dickinson.

‘We’ll meet again at St Pancras station, a year from today. If we’re meant to be together, we’ll both be there. If we’re not, it was never meant to be . . .’

Phoebe and Sam meet by chance at St Pancras station. Heading in opposite directions, both seeking their own adventures, meeting the love of their lives wasn’t part of the plan. So they make a promise: to meet again in the same place in twelve months’ time if they still want to be together.

But is life ever as simple as that?

This is a story of what-ifs and maybes – and how one decision can change your life forever…

– My Thoughts –

It’s not a case of disliking the book but more like a case of I couldn’t finish it. Let me explain…

The Day We Meet Again is about Phoebe and Sam who meet at St. Pancras Station due to sheer luck. Phoebe has plans to travel to Paris and Sam has plans to go to Scotland; since they’re both stranded, Phoebe suggests they sit down for a coffee and a few lines later, they fall in love.

I don’t believe nor like insta-love and honestly, I didn’t expect it when I was reading so I was shocked, to say the least. When we get to Sam’s POV(Point of View), I got the idea that it was more instant attraction and I was okay(for a moment).

“We’ll meet again at St Pancras station, a year from today. If we’re meant to be together, we’ll both be there. If we’re not, it was never meant to be . . .”

Anyway, Sam and Phoebe depart with the promise that they meet at the same place again in a year and see if they still want to see each other. From that part on, we get to read through Phoebe and Sam’s lives through their povs. The question is will they meet ever again or not?

My first problem was the insta-love trope and perhaps the pace of the book, the plot of the book…I quickly lost interest in the plot and started to skim through the stars and finally, at a point, I had to stop.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book but if you like stories that’ll remind you of the movie Before Sunrise then go for it. I had high hopes for it after reading the synopsis but I just couldn’t connect with the story or the characters.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Also, thanks to HQ for including me on this blog tour! I apologise for not posting my review on 26th. To readers, please make sure to visit the other bloggers on this tour!

Thank you for reading! What are some of your most favourite and least favourite romance tropes? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Review: The Bookshop on the Shore(Scottish Bookshop #2), written by Jenny Colgan

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan

Publication date: June 25th, 2019 
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 416
Genre: Womens fiction, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

A grand baronial house on Loch Ness, a quirky small-town bookseller, and a single mom looking for a fresh start all come together in this witty and warm-hearted novel by New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan.

Desperate to escape from London, single mother Zoe wants to build a new life for herself and her son Hari. She can barely afford the crammed studio apartment on a busy street where honking horns and shouting football fans keep them awake all night. If she doesn’t find a way out soon, Zoe knows it’s just a matter of time before she has a complete meltdown. On a whim, she answers an ad for a nanny job in the Scottish Highlands, which is about as far away from the urban crush of London as possible. It sounds heavenly!

The job description asks for someone capable of caring for three “gifted children”, two of which behave like feral wolverines. The children’s widowed father is a wreck, and the kids run wild in a huge tumbledown castle on the heather-strewn banks of Loch Ness. Still, the peaceful, picturesque location is everything London is not—and Zoe rises to the challenges of the job.

With the help of Nina, the friendly local bookseller, Zoe begins to put down roots in the community. Are books, fresh air, and kindness enough to heal this broken family—and her own…?

Trigger Warnings

mention of self-harming

– My Thoughts –

“If you read…It means there are more heads to be in, more lives to be lived than simply your own.”

This is my first Jenny Colgan book and I was drawn to it because -of course- of the word “Bookshop”. Did The Bookshop on the Shore meet my expectations? Let’s find out..

The book is about Zoe, a single mother who lives in London and is trying to make ends meet. Her ex is uncaring and irresponsible and her 4 years old son Hari has trouble with speech. On top of that, she has to worry about her landlord raising prices on her already dismal but expensive flat. Soon, Zoe gets a lifeline from Hari’s aunt, her sister-in-law who has two jobs for her but they’re both in Scotland. Zoe has no choice other than pack up her stuff and leave for Scotland with Hari in tow.

Zoe finds herself overwhelmed while arriving at one of her jobs in Scotland; she’s supposed to be the eighth(or ninth?) nanny to three unruly kids with a surly father. In her second job, she meets a very pregnant and (almost)friendly local bookseller Nina who isn’t sure Zoe is up to the task. Did Zoe make a terrible mistake or is this her salvation?

The Bookshop on the Shore was not what I had expected. I wouldn’t say I liked it or hated it. It was a light read with a good pace that let me finish it within a day. The only notable things in the book were the author’s beautiful descriptions of the Scottish highlands and her evocative writing style. I liked Zoe and sympathized with her every time. Do not go into this book expecting a romance because there is little to none of it. Ramsay, our heroine’s love interest, is mostly absent throughout the book and I didn’t like the way their “romance” evolved, if it did. The bookseller Nina is the main character in the first book of this Scottish Bookshop series and she was so rude to Zoe every time that it irritated me to the point that I had to skip some of the pages she was in.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light read that’ll make you lust for the Scottish highlands, then go for it! There was a bit of mystery in this book too which added a nice edge to the monotony of it.

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including ‘The Little Shop of Happy Ever After’ and ‘Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery’, which are also published by Sphere.’ Meet Me at the Cupcake Café’ won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was ‘Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweetshop of Dreams’, which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013. 

For more about Jenny, visit her website and her Goodreads page, or follow her on Twitter.
Jenny Colgan has also been published under the name Jenny T. Colgan

Thank you for reading! Have you read The Bookshop on the Shore or any of jenny Colgan’s books ? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

Review: The Unhoneymooners, written by Christina Lauren

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Publication date: May 14, 2019 
Publisher: Piatkus(US: Gallery Books)
Pages: 400
Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Buy: Book Depository | Wordery

Synopsis:

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.

– My Thoughts –

“When I signed up for this honeymoon, I had no idea it would involve so much nudity…” 

I finally finished reading The Unhoneymooners, one of my anticipated read of 2019. I knew that I couldn’t NOT love it because it was a Christina Lauren book but I finished it with some mixed feelings. Let’s unpack..

The story starts with a wedding gone wrong. It was Olive’s sister Ami’s wedding and as if it weren’t bad enough that Olive has to spend the entire day with her sworn enemy Ethan, who happens to the best man, the entire wedding party except for Olive and Ethan then gets food poisoning. Since Ami had won her honeymoon in a contest, she doesn’t want it to go to waste and begs Olive to go instead of her. Now, Olive has to go on a fake honeymoon with a fake husband who is none other than Ethan.

They plan to stay far away from each other and enjoy their time in Maui but all their plans go haywire when they find out all the activities booked for them are for couples and on top of that, there are encounters with a new boss and an ex-girlfriend. What could go wrong with one bed, being fake newlyweds in a honeymoon destination with old and new acquaintances in proximity?

“An eight-hour flight, and there’s no movie,” I say to myself, glaring at the screenless seat back in front of me. “Maybe they’re hoping your life flashing in front of your eyes will be distraction enough.” 

Let’s talk about the positives first. I love a book with the combination of enemies to lovers + fake romance + forced proximity. The sexual tension is palpable and the banter between the characters is -as usual- brilliant. The situations they get into are downright hilarious and I had no trouble finishing the book in a day. However, I had problems with how the conflict unfolded between Ethan and Olive. Ethan was so blinded by his affection for his brother that he refused to cut Olive any slack. It broke my heart seeing Olive receive so much flak from her sister and Ethan and when the time came for resolution, I felt that Olive forgave too soon. Let’s talk about the positives first. I love a book with the combination of enemies

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a funny and relatable summer romance with a beautiful setting. If you’re a sucker for fake dating/marriage tropes with forced proximity, lots of drama, hilarious dialogues and great banter, then get your hands on this ASAP!!

Thanks to the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

– About the Author –

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced fourteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

Website | Goodreads |  Twitter

Thank you for reading this far! Have you read The Unhoneymooners or is it on your TBR? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

View this post on Instagram

How're you spending your weekends? Did you pick up any book? #minireview I finished reading The Unhoneymooners and it was a delightful read. I'm a sucker for enemies-to-lovers trope and this had that plus forced proximity!! The setting of Maui provided an amazing backdrop where Olive and Ethan – our protagonists- are forced to act as newlyweds on honeymoon. The situations they get into are hilarious and I had no trouble with the pacing of the book as well. However, I did have some problems with how the conflict unfolded between Olive and Ethan and let's just say it didn't sit right with me☹️ The ending kinda made up for it, I guess..it was relatable and exactly what I had envisioned it would be! 📚 Overall, pick this up if you love the duo's books but expect less steaminess! If you love enemies to lovers+ snarky banter+ beautiful setting with a side of family drama!! 📚 #gifted #bookramblerreads #bookrecommendations #bookbloggers #bookbloggersofinstagram #bookravensaug19 #bookstacksaturday #theunhoneymooners #bookstagramfeatures #bookishfeature #bookstagramer #romancebooks #bookishaesthetic #booknerdigan #booksandshares #mybookfeatures #bookfeatured #featuredbooklovers #stackingupsaturday #buriedinbooksaugust #dreambunnybookishaug19

A post shared by Shalini(she/her)~ Book Blogger (@book_rambler) on Aug 10, 2019 at 11:39pm PDT

Blog Tour: Three Days in Florence, written by Chrissie Manby | Review

Three Days in Florence by Chrissie Manby

Publication date: August 6, 2019
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Pages: 352
Genre: Romance, Travel, family

Synopsis:

When a mini-break becomes make or break…

Kathy Courage has never visited the famous Italian city of Florence before, so she’s thrilled when she and her boyfriend Neil are invited there for a wedding. Unfortunately, with Neil’s constant complaining and his teenage children in tow, it’s not exactly the romantic break Kathy was hoping for.

But when a mix-up with her flights leaves Kathy stranded in the city, she decides to embrace the unexpected and stay on alone.
What follows is a life-changing few days in the Tuscan sun, as Kathy begins to question the choices that have led her here. With the help of the colourful Innocenti family, who offer Kathy a place to stay, she gradually begins to realise that there’s a much bigger world out there, if only she can be brave enough to explore it.

Could Italy hold the answers to her future happiness? Or is Kathy destined to return to her old life?

– My Thoughts –

Three Days in Florence was a delightful read about a woman called Kathy Courage, who wanted to visit Florence for a long time and when her wish finally gets fulfilled, life throws Kathy a curveball that she never saw coming. 

Kathy Courage has always wanted to visit Florence because her parents honeymooned there, so she’s ecstatic when she and her boyfriend Neil, are invited to his brother’s wedding there. At the reception, Neil springs a huge surprise on her by getting down on one knee and proposing.

When there are several mix-ups with the flights, Kathy decides to stay in Florence for three days after the wedding – which Neil isn’t very happy about. Has she done the right thing in accepting Neil’s proposal? Does she want to be stepmother to Neil’s three children who doesn’t think of her any better than their father? Kathy’s train of thought is cut short when she is robbed and a kind stranger steps in to help her. It is none other than Carla Innocenti, whose family hotel Kathy ends up staying at, and to her surprise, she comes across Henry – a charming and enigmatic musician- for the second time in her visit. 

I loved Kathy so much. She’s such an amazing woman but is self-conscious due to her absolute tosser of a boyfriend undermine her at every moment. You can see the difference between Neil and his family and the Innocentis. The latter are kind, loveable, and offer refuge to Kathy when she needs it the most. Although the book is named Three Days in Florence, there is less sightseeing and more of Kathy’s interactions with locals such as the Innocenti family and it offers us a fresh perspective on things. 

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light read that will make you laugh and also provide you with some family drama with the premise of a love story.

About the Author: Please connect with author Chrissie Manby here.

– Blog Tour Schedule –